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Adec invites investors to operate private school

The Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) is calling interested investors to operate one of the four government school buildings it has allocated to the private sector.

With a crunch on the number of seats at Indian curriculum schools, the new schools are expected to provide over 3,000 additional seats.

Three of the buildings are on the Abu Dhabi island and should offer either British, US curriculum or its equivalent, while the fourth school is in Baniyas, offering the Ministry of Education curriculum.

An Adec statement on Tuesday said that interested firms “must be licenced and registered with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the UAE, and are required to submit a proposal for leasing the buildings to operate any of them”.

“The most important factor we consider when selecting an interested firm is their experience in managing and operating a private school, since a sustainable school system and quality education are on the top of our priority list,” said Hamad Al Dhaheri, executive director for Adec’s Private Schools and Quality Assurance Sector (PSQA).

“We must make sure those interested in managing schools have an excellent proven track record of success with previous schools,” he stressed. Student enrollment in the private sector has increased by seven per cent in the past five years. The Adec expects the annual growth rate to rise by five per cent in the coming years. This is due to the growing population in the emirate and students transferring from the Northern Emirates, according to an Adec study.

Early this year, the Adec said that 100 more private schools would be required by 2020 if the emirate was to meet the demand for the 146,000 additional seats — which amounted to an investment of Dh3-4 billion.

The council also stressed the need to provide schools that would cater for the limited- to medium-income groups. The Adec plans to open 21 new private schools in the next three years, with six new schools due to open this academic year, nine in the 2014-15 academic year and six the following academic year.

There are over 198,000 students currently enrolled in 185 private schools across the emirate offering 15 curricula.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com